Anyone with information about Armstrong’s whereabouts is asked to contact authorities, the Marshals Service said in a press release on Friday.
Wilson was staying at a friend’s home in Austin, Texas, before a cycling race in Hico, when he was shot several times, according to an affidavit of arrest filed in Travis County District Court.
The affidavit describes how the victim and the suspect had recently had a romantic relationship with the same man – another professional cyclist named Colin Strickland – and detailed text messages and interviews with informants suggesting that jealousy could be a potential cause.
On the day of the murder, Wilson told his friend that he was going to swim in the afternoon with Strickland, says the affidavit, a detail that Strickland confirmed in an interview with police. Then they had dinner together, Strickland said, before leaving Wilson at his friend’s house. He didn’t go inside.
Austin police responded to the home later that night, shortly before 10 p.m. local time, to find Wilson’s friend performing CPR, according to the affidavit. Wilson appeared to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds and officers saw “several cartridges fired at the ground” nearby, although no firearms were seen. Wilson was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Austin Police Department said in a May 14 press release that “the shooting does not appear to be a random act.”
Authorities have since identified Armstrong, with whom Strickland lived in Austin, as the prime suspect in Wilson’s death. The affidavit of his arrest points in part to video surveillance obtained by investigators showing a vehicle similar to Armstrong’s near Wilson’s friend’s house shortly before his body was found.
Ballistic evidence found at the murder scene has also been compared to test bullets fired from a firearm Strickland recently bought for Armstrong, according to the affidavit. According to the results, “the potential for the firearm itself to be involved is significant,” the document says.
“We are absolutely devastated by the loss of our beautiful daughter and sister, Anna Moriah Wilson,” Wilson’s family said in a statement on CNN, describing her as a talented and supportive person who wanted to empower people to find joy. through sport. “There are no words that can express the pain and suffering we are experiencing because of this meaningless and tragic loss.”
Wilson’s family said they would not delve into the investigation, which is ongoing, according to the statement. But “we think it’s important to make it clear that at the time of her death, those in the closet clearly understood, directly from Moriah, that she had no romantic relationship with anyone.”
The suspect’s vehicle was seen in the images near the scene, according to the affidavit
Wilson, known as “Mo,” was an alpine skier at Dartmouth College, but went on to pursue her dreams as a bike racer after graduating, according to her obituary. Outside of sports, he enjoyed “cooking, writing and traveling,” he says, adding, “He especially loved Italy, Taco Tuesdays, maple creams, and playing Catan with his friends.”
At the time of his death, Wilson was just days away from taking part in the Gravel Locos bike race. On May 15, the day after the race, an event organizer remembered her on Facebook as a “role model, a shy, compassionate person, a lively tactical runner, and a competitor who genuinely cared about those who competed. against you. ” “He inspired many, lived to the fullest and loved him fiercely,” said a fundraiser from GoFundMe organized by the Wilson family. Strickland considered Wilson one of the best cyclists in the world, he told police, and a VeloNews feature published on the day of his death called her “the most successful woman on the American off-road scene.” “. Wilson won a series of races in California this spring, the article notes, before traveling to Austin. In a statement to Austin’s American statesman, Strickland said he had a “brief relationship” with Wilson from late October to early November 2021, during a time when he was visiting Austin. “At the time, she and I had a recently ended relationship,” her statement said.
Strickland and Armstrong later reconciled and resumed their relationship, he told the newspaper, and his relationship with Wilson became “platonic and professional.”
“There is no way to properly express the grief and torture I feel for my closeness to this horrific crime,” Strickland said, according to the newspaper. “I’m sorry, and I just can’t understand this unfathomable situation.”
Strickland also told police he began his romantic relationship with Wilson over a two-week period when he was separated from Armstrong, according to the affidavit.
His relationship with Wilson continued in some way after he resumed his relationship with Armstrong, according to the affidavit, which also cites an informant who alleged that Armstrong came to believe that Strickland and Wilson’s romantic relationship continued. as of January 2022. Strickland admitted to attempting to conceal his communications. with her of Armstrong changing Wilson’s name on her phone and deleting texts, the affidavit says.
Armstrong had contacted Wilson several times and in one case told him to “get away” from Strickland, one of Wilson’s friends told investigators, according to the affidavit.
Several police agencies involved in the investigation obtained images from security cameras that captured what appeared to be Armstrong’s car, a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a bicycle rack mounted on the trailer hitch, near the house before that Wilson’s body was found, according to the affidavit.
Within 24 hours of Wilson’s death, officers from the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force arrested Armstrong in connection with an unrelated arrest warrant and spoke with her. However, Austin police said they knew Armstrong’s arrest warrant was invalid and told him he was free to leave.
Armstrong asked to end the interview and left after detectives began confronting her about the video from the security camera that placed her car near the scene of the crime, according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Strickland told police he has not had contact with Armstrong since May 13.
CNN’s Jennifer Henderson, Chris Boyette and Elizabeth Wolfe contributed to this report.